Leadership Resources Archives

August 20, 2019

Sarcasm in the Bible?! How Old Testament Narrative Uses Sarcasm

reshared with kind permission from Leadership Resources. Sarcasm in the Bible?! NO WAY… Actually, yes way according to Dr. Dale Ralph Davis. In his helpful book The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts, Davis explains why sarcasm is used in Old Testament narrative and provides a few examples: Occasionally the biblical writer dips his pen in acid and uses mockery, derision, or put-down to drive home his point. The device may not be prevalent but likely occurs more often than a casual reader thinks. One thinks immediately, of course, of Elijah’s taunting the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel […]

July 23, 2019

What does it mean to preach Christ? (Part I)

Reshared with kind permission from Leadership Resource International. LRI’s Kevin Halloran sat down with his pastor, Colin S. Smith, to talk about what it means to preach Christ. Listen to the audio or read the transcript below. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “We preach Christ crucified,” and a few verses later, he said he was determined to “know nothing among the Corinthians except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). But what does this mean? And how can a preacher faithfully preach Christ? Pastor Colin Smith With me is my pastor, Colin Smith, of the Orchard Evangelical […]

June 14, 2019

A Simple, Biblical, and Glorious Approach of Discipleship: The 4 P’s

Reshared with kind permission from Leadership Resources Intl. Do you ever overcomplicate things? Instead of taking the short, logical route while driving, you choose the roundabout way that gets you to your destination twenty minutes late. Instead of simply asking your friend a question, you think through all possible scenarios of how the conversation might go. We have the potential to overcomplicate everything—even discipleship. The Vine Project: Shaping Your Ministry Culture Around Disciple-Making, written by our friends Tony Payne and Colin Marshall, presents a compellingly biblical, yet simple way to think about discipleship, “Disciples are made by the persevering proclamation of the word […]

December 27, 2018

2 Corinthians: The Supreme Pastoral Letter – Interview with Phil Smith

Enjoy this audio interview with Leadership Resources, Kevin Halloran and Phil Smith reshared with kind permission. Kevin Halloran: When we think of the Pastoral Epistles, we usually think of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus because they were written to pastors and bear the official title of “Pastoral Epistle.” Even so, some have called the book of 2 Corinthians the “Supreme Pastoral Letter” because it helps us see the pastoral heart and pastoral suffering of the Apostle Paul in a unique way.[1] Since Leadership Resources is an organization that encourages and equips pastors to teach God’s word with God’s heart, I […]

October 2, 2018

Devoted to the Public Reading of Scripture: Ideas, Techniques, and Resources

by Kevin Halloran, reposted with kind permission from Leadership Resources. Paul commands Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13 to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture. . . .” Why be devoted to the public reading of Scripture? Let’s take a look at the theological foundations of public Scripture reading and some ways to give Scripture a more prominent place in public gatherings. Theological Foundations God has spoken. From the beginning of the Bible (Genesis 1:3), we see that God speaks, and His word is powerful and life-giving. At the end of the Bible, we see that a word from God ushers in […]

August 14, 2018

When Preaching the Word is Costly

Guest post from Craig Parro, President of Leadership Resources To us, preaching the Word is a no-brainer. To people like Pastor John from Kenya, it is a costly choice. John used to be a “rhema” preacher—that is, one that ‘followed the Spirit’ in preaching—which really meant saying anything that came to his head at the moment. After studying 2 Timothy’s command to “preach the Word” during a TNT (Training National Trainers) workshop, John repented of his preaching approach and began to preach Word-saturated messages, beginning with Jonah. Many left his church, and one woman even said, “Tell the pastor we’ve had […]

June 5, 2018

Transformed Pulpits Lead to Transformed Communities

Shared with kind permission of Leadership Resources. What does a Movement of the Word actually look like . . . on the ground? Here’s the short answer: the Word faithfully taught and preached transforms pulpits, which then transform churches, which then transform communities. But, is this depth of transformation actually happening? YES! . . . Consider what’s happening in Vietnam and the story of our in-country leader, Chinh*. Chinh’s life and ministry have been transformed by LRI’s tools for digging into God’s Word. And it’s not just Chinh. This transformation has impacted many Vietnamese pastors, causing many to repent of misusing and […]

May 10, 2018

Preaching Content of the Bible is Not Enough

Shared with kind permission of Leadership Resources. Preaching the content of the Bible is not enough. Content must lead to intent. The Scriptures are purposeful…they were written to a particular group of people with the intention of bringing about a necessary (from God’s perspective) change. Our noble task, as teachers and preachers of God’s Word, is to discern the original aim of the text. Of course, this requires a careful reading of the both the text and the context. Once grasped, the original aim or the shepherding intent of the text leads us to a biblically-driven application for today. God’s aim then fuels […]

October 19, 2017

Preaching the Content of the Bible is Not Enough

Preaching the content of the Bible is not enough. Content must lead to intent. The Scriptures are purposeful…they were written to a particular group of people with the intention of bringing about a necessary (from God’s perspective) change. Our noble task, as teachers and preachers of God’s Word, is to discern the original aim of the text. Of course, this requires a careful reading of both the text and the context. Once grasped, the original aim or the shepherding intent of the text leads us to a biblically-driven application for today. God’s aim then fuels our application. Unfortunately, we might miss God’s aim […]

July 12, 2017

Why does biblical interpretation matter?

The Need for Biblical Interpretation I became a believer in 1970 while a freshman at the University of Illinois. The early 70’s were a time of a great spiritual harvest on the college campuses across the country, and God, in his great mercy, included me. A few months later, I began to receive postcards from Chuck, a young man who had lived with us. My mother was a high school English teacher with a huge heart. She ended up welcoming troubled high schoolers into our home….sometimes for a few days or, as in the case of Chuck, for several months. […]